8 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ NOVEMBER 4, 2019
News
T
he 2019 Sharjah International Book Fair in the
United Arab Emirates, which began October 29 and
runs through November 9, hosted more than 2,
exhibitors from 81 countries. Among approximately 173
authors participating in the fair are several bestsellers from
the U.S., including James Clear, author of Atomic Habits;
Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck;
crime writer Kathy Reichs; and television personality and
author Steve Harvey.
The fair began with a three-day professional program that
saw some 400 people—including publishers, foreign rights
directors, editors, and agents—convene for panels and
matchmaking. Panels covered a range of topics, including
recent digital developments, the role of the Arab writer,
and the state of freedom of expression across the globe. A
full morning was dedicated to presentations about publishing
in Africa, a region that Sharjah’s most prominent publishing
figure, Bodour Al Qasimi, founder and CEO of Kalimat
Publishing Group and vice president of the International
Publishers Association, has been passionate in supporting.
A highlight of the program was the announcement of
$170,000 in grants from the Dubai Cares charity, which
were awarded to African publishers to help kick-start projects
across the continent. Winners included digital publishing
startup OkadaBooks, from Nigeria; audiobook publisher
Positively African, from Kenya; and the Puku Foundation, a
South African organization that focuses on producing chil-
dren’s books in African languages.
“I believe that Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, are the
places to watch,” Al Qasimi said in a closing speech for the
professional program. “They have the growth potential.
They are attracting more attention on the global stage as
publishing and pop culture become more globalized.” She
went on to note that some 90% of the global population
under the age of 30 are living in emerging markets, primarily
in Africa and the Middle East, calling them “the book buyers
of the future” and adding, “It’s our duty as publishers to
provide them with the material they need so that they can
lead successful, fulfilled lives.”
Indeed, the SIBF is contributing a tremendous amount of
support to publishers in an effort to bring more attention
and books to the Middle East. Not only are flights and
accommodations covered by the fair for most of the people
attending the professional days but it also offers $300,
worth of grants each year for translations. These grants
support translations to and from Arabic, with a maximumInternational Interest in SIBF Grows
grant of $4,000 for an adult title and $1,000 for a children’s
book.
The professional program, though it follows just a week
after the Frankfurt Book Fair, is particularly popular, as it
offers participants an opportunity to meet with people they
may have missed in Germany. “There are just so many people
[at SIBF] from countries I don’t typically do business with,”
said Kerstin Schlosser, rights manager of GABAL, a business
and self-help book publisher in Offenbach, Germany. Among
the smaller nations with representatives on the professional
program were Armenia, Georgia, Ghana, Lithuania, Slovenia,
and Togo.
Nine representatives from the U.S. attended the profes-
sional days, including people from Hay House, Human
Kinetics, and Restless Books, and from the literary agency
Susanna Lea Associates. Regulars on hand included Steve
Rosato, business development director of OverDrive; Michel
Mouschabeck, founder of Interlink Books; and Ibrahim
Ahmad, editorial director of Brooklyn’s Akashic Books.
“We’re committed to finding great books wherever we can,
and Sharjah gives me an opportunity to meet face-to-face
with publishers from places that really interest us as pub-
lishers,” Ahmad said, adding that he has been able to sell
rights as well.
Maricio Velasquez De Leon of Duopress, based in
Baltimore, was in Sharjah for the first time. “I came because
of a lot of my colleagues recommended it,” he said. He added
that he was intrigued by the presence of publishers from
Turkey and Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia.
“You normally don’t have time at other shows to meet with8 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ NOVEMBER 4, 2019
Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasim opened the SIBF praising freedom of
expression.